I-DOPE and I-MORSE Creativity Technique to Invent and Innovate Ideas, Solutions

What is It?

I-DOPE and I-MORSE is a creativity technique I developed in order to help with the generation of new ideas especially when hit a road block.


It is an acronym and stands for:
INVERSE - of - Direction, Order, Position, Effects;
INVERSE - of - Meaning, Object(s), Reasons, Subject (s), Else (as in what else?)

Basically to Inverse is to do something that is the opposite or reverse of something else.

Premises

- Most of us use cliche thinking and tend to be creatures of habit.

- We also assume that the way we see and organize the world around us and the thoughts inside us is the only way or the right way. We usually tend to get angry, upset when others show us that there ways to think about or do things.

- Cliche in our context is a phrase or opinion that is overused and sign of a lack of original thought.  That is very predictable, repeatable sequence of thoughts.

- It means that tomorrow we will tend to repeat what we have done consistently until now and come up with the same / similar sequence ideas as before;

- Newton's first law of motion states that: An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.

- In the Analogy of Newton's law "The Object" would be "Our Habitual Thinking Patterns"

Steps - How to Use it?

Step-1: Define

Write on a piece of paper Goal, Wish, Prediction, Something that you want to achieve, a problem you want to solve, etc.
It could be in the form of an Affirmation or in the form of a Question.

Step-2: Invert

Inverse the Affirmation or Question.
Play around and experiment with different inversions.

You could inverse the:
Direction of the Action. What is the Destination, the Aim ?
Order of the Words, order of steps, priorities;
Position: Up - Down, Above-Underneath, etc,
Effects: what are the default consequences you're considering? what if the opposite were true?

Inverse also:

Meaning: Inverse What does it mean achieving X?
Object: What is (are) the Object(s)? Who/What supports the action of the Subject?
Subject: Who is the subject? Who initiate/does the Actions?
Reasons: What are your motives, reasons for doing?
Else: What else could be inverse? How else could be inverse?


Step-3: Defer Evaluation

Because some of the Inversions you come up might be outright illogical, stupid, crazy, irrational, absurd...

Acknowledge that some of the Inversions could be outright illogical, stupid, crazy, irrational, absurd and in the next step you might tell your self:


Step-4: Exploration 

1. I know this is crazy but what if there was a parallel universe where this inversion were true?
2. What else would have to be true for this inversion to work?
3. What does this implies?
4. What Questions does this raises?
5. I know this can't work this way, shape or form but what useful ideas could it lead to?

Step-5: Review

Review what kind of new ideas, insights, new perspectives, new awarenesses, discoveries, observations, the Inversions have produced.
Can they be implemented directly or indirectly?
Have the Inversions triggered new Solutions?



Prerequisites

Willingness to patient and experiment. It's an experimental technique that increases your chances of generating new ideas. It does not guarantee to work every time.


When to Use it?

Whenever you feel stuck in your current approaches. When you are looking for new ideas and solutions.


What to Expect?

You can expect to stretch your thinking, become aware that ideas, words, things can be arranged in many different ways and forms.

Practical Example
I-DOPE and I-MORSE Practical Example

Related
S.E.R - B.A.U technique
W-I-RAR-I Creativity Technique